Safety Net
by Lieutenant Caine
Summary: There are times Calleigh needs the liberating fall into her safety net. Rated T for now...minor language. Rated M later.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N II **Thank heavens for short meetings. I re-edited this piece and found some mistakes I had missed. Please forgive the re-posting.

**Safety Net**

Calleigh drove for hours, recklessly disregarding the speed and safety laws, but somehow miraculously avoiding any sign of a police officer. That thought put a grim smile on her face for a moment. She had cleaned her gun to perfection, cleaned Horatio's gun for him, polished the gun safe, and inventoried their ammunition, but still there was no cessation of the restless energy that zipped over her nerves making her sharp and irritable. Finally she shrugged into a pair of tight jeans and a tee shirt, grabbed her purse and the keys to the Hummer and announced to Horatio that she was going for a drive.

He looked up from the article he was reading on the computer and frowned.

"At this time of night? Calleigh it's 9:45."

"I know what time it is, Horatio," she snapped.

His eyes narrowed slightly at her sharp tone of voice and he pushed the rolling chair away from the desk and stood up, stretching his back slightly. Walking over to where she stood, he took her into his arms and held her for a moment. He immediately felt the physical evidence of her disquiet. She stayed stiff as a board in his gentle hold and didn't respond to his touch. Her breath came in short bursts, almost as though she were holding some emotion tightly in check through force of will. Horatio rubbed his hands over her back and shoulders and felt the wicked tension that knotted the muscles under her silky skin.

"Calleigh, Sweetheart, what's wrong? You're so tense, and I can literally feel you vibrating." He looked down into her normally clear green eyes and noticed that they were darkened, the color of an angry sea under stormy skies. "Sweetheart, are you okay?"

"Well, obviously if I'm going for a drive at almost 10:00 at night, I'm NOT okay, Horatio." Again her voice was cutting and sharp and Horatio's internal radar sounded an alarm through his soul.

"You know it's not good for you to be out alone at this time of night," he cautioned.

"I have my .45, Horatio. I'll be fine. Besides I'm taking the Hummer."

Once more he tried to dissuade her from her intent. "Calleigh talk to me. What's wrong? What's bothering you?"

"Damn it, Horatio, if I knew I'd tell you. I just feel irritable, like I want to scream and cry and hurt someone. You know, it might not be a good idea for me to take my weapon with me, cause in the mood I'm in I might just be tempted to target practice on someone."

That statement deepened Horatio's worry and he shook his head at her. "Calleigh, I don't want you to go. In this frame of mind, whatever it is, you'd be a danger not only to yourself, but to everyone else around you on the streets. Why don't you let me take you to the private gun range and you can burn off some tension that way."

"As you so astutely informed me, it's almost 10:00. Hello, the gun range is closed."

"I can call Harold. He will open it for us."

"No, Horatio. I'm going driving."

"Calleigh…"

She twisted out of his lax hold and stood there with one hand on the doorknob, daring him to stop her.

Horatio adopted his customary stance, hands on hips, head tilted slightly to the side and looked at his lover.

"Okay, go. But promise me no alcohol. I'll know, you know that."

"Yes, _Master_," Calleigh snarled sarcastically as she opened the door and stepped out into the cloying heat of a midsummer Miami night.

And so she drove. Hours slipped by with no respite from the feeling of unprovoked anger that had set a headache throbbing through her temples.

It was almost 2:00 in the morning when she finally returned to Horatio's condo. The lights in the front of the house were darkened, but she knew instinctively that he had stayed up, waiting for her to come back. She knew he would be awake, lying in bed reading or watching TV.

The tires skidded a bit as she brought the Hummer to a stop and killed the engine. Calleigh gave a rueful sigh and opened the door, sliding out of the seat and locking the vehicle with the remote. Her prowling along the city streets of Miami had accomplished little more than wasting very expensive gasoline. And she knew she'd have to account for the mileage on the Hummer. That thought only made her feel more irritable.

Quietly she let herself into the house and walked down the hall without turning on the lights. When she reached the bedroom she had to smile at the thin strip of light that showed under the door. He had waited for her. The smile disappeared, however on the coat tails of the next thought through her mind. _Great, now he'll make me talk. _

"We'll see about that, Horatio Caine," she muttered to herself, pushing the bedroom door open.

Horatio's eyes zeroed in on Calleigh the second the door opened to reveal her slender form. He watched closely as she headed toward the bathroom, stripping out of her clothing as she went, leaving a trail of discarded material behind her. It was obvious that she was in no better mood than she had been before she left. The slamming of the bathroom door confirmed his suspicions, and the sound of the shower starting put a devious grin on his face. Calleigh needed some serious intervention to jolt her out of the mood she was wallowing in so Horatio eased out of the bed.

Heat and steam filled the air of the bathroom, instantly coating Horatio's skin with a thin glistening sheen of moisture. His bare feet made no sound on the tile floor, so Calleigh had no warning of his presence until the glass shower door slid open and he stepped in beside her.

A startled gasp flew from her lips. "Damn, it, Horatio! You could have let me know you were coming in..." She got no farther with her angry outburst before Horatio shoved her roughly against the back wall of the shower, pinned her hands above her head and pressed his body against hers.

"Now I think you've been waspish just about long enough, Calleigh Duquesne. I know what you need when you get like this and we both know driving isn't the cure."

"Let me go, Horatio!"

"Not a chance, Sweetheart."

TBC

**A/N **Yes, I know...terrible of me to leave you hanging there, but my meeting starts in 15 minutes so I have to stop for now. There will be more, much more...

Cal, my love...I kept my promise.

H


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

For the span of a heartbeat, Calleigh stared incredulously into Horatio's twinkling blue eyes. Then she snarled and began twisting and squirming against his firm hold.

"Let me go, I said! I'm in no mood to be humored out of my bad mood." She was in such a frenzy that she didn't realize how absolutely ridiculous her words sounded. She continued struggling against Horatio's hands, writhing and jerking, trying to free herself.

"Believe me, Sweetheart," he murmured, leaning in toward her, "I'm not feeling humorous at all right now." He tilted his head and aimed a kiss at her neck. His lips collided with her wet bare skin and sent a jolt of response through her body. Calleigh tensed against the first blush of arousal and fought even harder.

"Horatio…now…is…not…the…time," she bit out, increasing her efforts to escape his hold on her, in spite of the fact that her body was beginning to respond to the nearness of his.

"Oh, but it is, Sweetheart. It very much is the time. You need this whether you want to admit it or not."

"I do not need...," she gasped as he continued his sensual exploration of her water slick body.

Horatio ignored her protests and skimmed his lips down along her neck, licking and sucking at the water that ran down in tiny rivulets. When he came to the pounding pulse in her throat he grazed his teeth along the delicate skin, drawing an unwilling gasp of pleasure from her lips.

"Horatio, NO!" she gasped out, by now fighting as hard against her own rising need as she was against his tender restraint.

"Calleigh…Yes," he answered, gently forcing one leg between hers and pressing firmly.

"Oh god, Horatio…" she moaned, her efforts at fighting him slackening for the moment. Involuntarily her body bucked up against his, riding his thigh in an effort to increase the delicious pressure between her legs.

"Hmmm," he murmured, continuing his loving assault on her determination to stay angry. He kissed his way lower on her body, coming at length to the soft swells of her breasts and Calleigh couldn't help but arch her back toward him, instinctively offering herself to him. He smiled against her skin and mouthed gently over one taut and straining nipple before taking it into his mouth and sucking hard. His tongue swirled around her and over her, sending waves of desire scorching through her.

Horatio still had her pinned between his body and the shower wall, and the contrast between the cool glass at her back and the heated skin of his flesh against her front sent a fine frenzy of sensation through Calleigh's body.

Lifting his head from suckling at her breast, Horatio looked down into Calleigh's eyes and noted that although they were still stormy, they were clouded with a different emotion now. Anger was giving way to desire. A slow smile curved his lips.

"You are so very beautiful, Sweetheart."

"Horatio, I…" her words were cut off when his mouth closed over hers in a deep, passionate kiss.

Calleigh's response was fierce. She attacked his mouth, swiftly taking control of the kiss, forcing her tongue deep into his mouth, and drawing a grunt of surprise from him. They battled for dominance, tongues dueling in a blatant imitation of a far more intimate coupling.

Finally Horatio tore his mouth from hers and stared down into her eyes. "Now, you're finally making sense, Sweetheart," he growled.

"Horatio, please…" she begged, twisting her wrists against his hold.

He loosened his grip and slowly slid his hands down her arms in a sensual caress, settling them at last on her waist and drawing her body even more firmly against his. The prodding of his hardened manhood against her stomach turned her legs to jelly and she clung to him for support.

Heat and steam and passion rose between them and finally Horatio lifted Calleigh into his arms and after wrapping her legs around his waist, he locked gazes with her and said in a silken murmur, "Tell me what you want, Sweetheart."

"I need you inside me, Horatio, deep and hard." Her voice was ragged and broken with need.

"I think I can manage that request," he said and with one quick movement, he buried himself completely in her heated softness.

"Oh my god, yes…" Calleigh could barely talk for the intensity of pleasure that swept through her at the simple feel of him entering her.

"Mmmm, you feel like heaven, Calleigh." His own voice was passion thickened and rough, evidence of the equally devastating effect she had on him.

Time stood still then as Horatio began to stroke into her body. He moved smoothly, withdrawing almost completely and then plunging back in as far as possible. Each stroke sent pleasure crashing through both of them and their sounds of pleasure became indistinguishable one from the other.

"Calleigh…Calleigh…" he groaned as he felt the first sharp flare of climax scream through his body. "No holding back, Sweetheart…" and he let go his control and began to simply pound into her over and over.

Calleigh met him thrust for thrust, reveling in the intensity of his possession of her. Somewhere in the depths of her mind floated the thought that her back would be bruised after the encounter, but she didn't care. She only cared that with each stroke, Horatio pushed her closer and closer to a mind-blowing release and she sought it with every fiber of her being.

"Horatio, I'm so…close..ahhh…"

"Come with me, Calleigh," he ground out as he plunged once more deeply into her and felt his release hit him with the force of a hurricane. He gripped her hips, holding her tightly to his lower body and poured himself into her. Calleigh felt his release and followed him over the edge, arching her back and screaming out his name as pleasure set off starbursts behind her tightly closed eyes.

Pleasure induced weakness assailed them both and Calleigh's arms slipped from Horatio's neck to hang limply at her sides. Her head rested on his shoulder, her breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps. Horatio slipped easily from her relaxed body and turning, rested his back against the shower wall, holding Calleigh a moment longer before slowly lowering her feet to the floor. She protested quietly, until he tightened his arms around her and held her securely to his chest.

Finally he reached and turned off the water and opened the sliding glass door. Calleigh allowed him to help her out of the shower, and wrap a soft, fluffy towel around her. He swung her up into the cradle of his arms and carried her to the bed. The covers were already turned down and so he gently laid her down and tucked the blanket around her shoulders.

"I'll be right back, Sweetheart," he murmured, dropping a tender kiss on her forehead.

"Mmmm…" she mumbled, drowsiness making her words indistinct.

Horatio went back to the bathroom and quickly dried himself, then returned to bed to find Calleigh already in a light doze. For a moment he simply drank in the sight. Her body was totally relaxed. A half smile rested on her lips. The heavy wet golden mass of her hair lay spread over the pillow. She was a feast for the eyes. Easing into the bed beside her, he gathered her into his arms and snuggled her close to his chest. Calleigh nestled close to him and sighed contentedly.

"Feel better now, Sweetheart?" he asked softly, placing tiny kisses along the back of her neck.

"Mmm…yes. I needed that."

Horatio chuckled low. "I know you did."

"Thank you, Handsome…" her words were slurred, fast fading under the weight of encroaching sleep.

"For what, Sweetheart?" he asked, slightly puzzled.

"For catching me when I fall…for being my safety net." A tremendous yawn threatened to split her face and her voice faded to nothing.

"Any time, Sweetheart," Horatio whispered to the sleeping beauty in his arms just before he too fell asleep. "Any time."

FIN


End file.
